Most of Rome commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
The two grades for Rome are B+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. 114 jobs are based in Rome for 738 working residents. For 8% of workers, the job is at home (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Rome apart on work
Rome and Peoria trade workers both ways
Peoria is the top workplace for Rome residents (35%) and also where the most people who work in Rome come from (28% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Rome is a place people come home to
There are 114 jobs based in Rome, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Rome has about 1,300 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Rome are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 738 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Rome
On income, poverty and job access, Rome is better than 73% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Rome’s grade. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Rome’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Rome could be anywhere from C+ to A.
35% of working residents work in Peoria
Where Rome clocks in
10% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Who leaves Rome for work, and who comes in
On a workday 732 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 108 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Rome on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting from Rome: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rome workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 865 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Factories, building and farms: 74% of the jobs in Rome
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rome, 2013 → 2023: 71 → 114. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rome’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Rome to work
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Rome walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rome is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 937 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.3% of Rome households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rome’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rome next to U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600: 974th of 5,234 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Port Barrington IL | 1,584 | $150K | 2.7% | 2.9% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 972 | Brookwood AL | 2,467 | $81K | 7.5% | 1.7% | 6% | B+ |
| 973 | Palmer Lake CO | 2,591 | $125K | 4.4% | 5.5% | 2% | B+ |
| 974 | Rome IL | 1,947 | $89K | 6.5% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 975 | Avilla IN | 2,487 | $79K | 5.8% | 2.9% | 7% | B+ |
| 976 | Upper Nyack NY | 2,087 | $188K | 10.4% | 6.8% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Rome, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
10% of Rome works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rome workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | – | B+ | C+ | 20 min | $88,750 |
| Partridge Township | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Chillicothe | 10% | B+ | B− | 22 min | $66,132 |
| Medina Township | under 2% | A− | C+ | 20 min | $124,087 |
Same-state neighbors only. Partridge Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Chillicothe. Darker towns draw more of Rome’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Rome: questions
What is the median household income in Rome?
$88,750 (±$19,171) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rome?
6.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rome?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rome work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Peoria (35%, 10 mi), Chillicothe (10%, 3 mi), Mossville (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rome walkable?
Rome is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rome without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rome, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rome
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.